L.A. to spend $139 million on mobility issues ahead of 2028 Olympics

The federal government is investing $236.9 million in 17 projects to improve neighborhood connectivity, roadway infrastructure and street safety throughout California, including millions to solve mobility problems in Los Angeles County ahead of the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic games.

A majority of the funding will go to the Los Angeles County Transportation Authority, which will use the money on various projects to improve connectivity throughout the county. Investments include bus speed and reliability improvements and mobility hubs.

The intent behind the $139 million “Removing Barriers and Creating Legacy” project is to reconnect communities and strengthening mobility across highways and arterial barriers.

“With the 2028 Olympic Games around the corner, we have a responsibility to invest in transportation infrastructure that both makes the Games run smoothly and makes a lasting improvement to the mobility and connectivity of the communities who need it most,” U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) said in a statement. “For far too long, communities across California have been cut off by the construction of highways and other transportation infrastructure, stifling mobility in the region.”

The FY 2023 grants are being issued through the Reconnecting Communities Pilot (RCP) Program and the Neighborhood Access and Equity (NAE) Grant Program, established by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act, respectively.

Recipients of the RCP and NAE grants include:

$30 million to the Alameda County Transportation Commission for the Lake Merritt to Bayfair Project, which involves approximately 10 miles of complete street improvements in the cities of Oakland and San Leandro as part of the East Bay Greenway Multimodal Project. Plans include shared-use paths, protected bikeways, neighborhood routes, protected intersection treatments, pedestrian crossing safety and accessibility improvements, bus stop enhancements to improve speed and passenger comfort, and placemaking features such as benches, pedestrian scale lighting, and landscaping.
$22.5 million to the Sacramento Area Council of Governments, which will advance planning, engineering, design and project development activities to address barrier transportation facilities in 10 federally designated disadvantaged communities.
$11 million to the San Diego Association of Governments, which will mitigate the impacts of industrial use of Harbor Drive and reconnect the community by improving efficiency, safety and air quality for residents, military personnel, freight stakeholders, and employees in and around the Working Waterfront. Benefits include enhancing access, improving safety, decreasing greenhouse gas emissions from truck idling, improving economic competitiveness of Working Waterfront industries.
$9.96 million to the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The project is a partnership between LA Metro, Caltrans and LA County Public Works and involves construction of a dedicated pedestrian and bicycle overcrossing adjacent to the existing Humphreys Avenue bridge over I-710 in the historically disadvantaged community of East Los Angeles. It also includes complementary pedestrian safety and accessibility improvements such as upgraded crosswalks, ADA-compliant curb ramps, and improved sidewalks.
$ 5 million to the Port of Los Angeles, which is building a pedestrian bridge over two mainline freight tracks at the port, the largest port complex in the Western Hemisphere. The bridge will be able to accommodate emergency vehicles and will connect the economically disadvantaged Wilmington community with the Wilmington Waterfront.